Plowlift



Alatenited Apr. 24, 1923. i

Maarn,

.`UNITEDjsrares PATENT ortica.

"HORACE e. KNAPP, or sliNJosE, cerimoniale, AssIGNon roi KNArP'PLoW CO., INC.,

or san JOSE, `entreQuirra,-' A ooRroneTIoN or CALIFORNIA. f

rLoWLIFT.

- Application medreb'uary 9, 1921. serial No. Messi. y i' Tall wlw-m. rf/mty concern.' n n :Be it` known that I, Hormon G.' KNAPrfa citizen of the United States, residing San Jose,;in the county ofSanta Clara and State of California, haveinvented new and useful v.lmproveinents in lPlowliits,r off which the ifollowingvisa` speciication. K

This invention 'relates to a plow lift,v and artic`ularly pertains toagricultural i1nplelments' .of the: `class shown inf copendingapplications Serial NiunbersBOll and 404295, filed `d une 14,5191@ and August 1.8', 1920respectively.'l` 5 It is the principal .object of the present v in- `vention tol `provide z al`plow wliit adapted to he 'used`l in; connection VAwith gang plows.y and whichlwill act' ltoraise and lower they plow as the implement advances', said raising and lowering mechanism being provided i withv improven'ients which are' ,the subject'matter ot' thepresentinvention, 'and bywhich the lift mechanism may be readily thrown vinto and out of operation as desired.;y y -The `present invention contemplates the use ,of lifting means adapted-tobe optionally connected with' power Atransmission memberstof cause lthefi'ramev of .t-hevehicle tofraise" and 'lower relative to the running gear, said lifting' mechanisinf being l' equipped v'with means formanually lifting the 'iframe ifdesii'ecl,*and other means whereby the imple- `ment* may` be, 'backed along its course' .ot travel without placingundue stress upon the `lifting mechanism.` The invention is illustrated byxway olie):- ample in they a rcompanying drawings, Vin

lzl`igure lisv viewand plan illustrating 'the' present invention as applied to a gang plow." if i Fig: 2" is an enlarged view in section and 4elevation showing theclutch mechanism by which backing of theplow permitted without damage. .p f

.'Figq is a yview .iny elevation showing the power lift-with' parts brokei'i` away to. more clearly disclose'its construction. Y w

Fig. @is rak view in central sectionthrough thepower lift showing themounting thereof and the" varioug'..elementsof kwhi'ch'it iscoqiil.

Fig.v 5 is" a- .vi'ewqin` plan, showingythe complete power lit't.-` f

Fig. 6v is a fragmentary view of the rear wheel lifting link mechanism.

the shaft 20".V

Fig. 7 is asimilar view of the front wheelk lifting link mechanisni.r` 1 ,y f Fig. 8r is alfrangmentary view disclosing the connection between one yof the. drag links and the frame. i n

Referring more.particularly tothe drawf ings, l0 indicates aplow main frameadapped to support a'pluralityfotdisk plows. The main frame is provided with a running gear -con'iprising Aa frontwheel ll, a side wheel 12,'andarear wheelfl. Frontwheel his preferably inclined to thevertical, and. 1s .-mounted.- uponf a spindle structure rll.

This structure is iittedwith a vertical Vshaift l5, properly housed within bearings 1 6' on the forward fend of frame' 1Q. Thefupper end of thisshaft isequipped witha leveri?, securedto a link` 18, which llink ext-ends rear.-

wardly and connect-s withnl lever 19, secured tio vertical shaft' 2O disposedatthe rear of.: irame 1Q.'k rThis shaft has agrearwardly extending crank portion 21,;upon which the wheel 13 1s mounted, andby'which mecha .nisni the wheels, 11' and V13 are' caused to swing 1n unison 1n a mannertotrack'on an i arcuate course;` The wheel l2 is. preferably mounted on a Zshaped. 'alle 22,1one end of' -which axle carries a. wheel 12,.givliile the -'other end extends through bearings 23 onthe jby hand wheel 27. u a f 1 The adjustment for raising and lowering the rear end oi thefframe'relative' to the axle structure 20, consistso-f bell4 crank 28, se cured to al 'bracket 29 on* -1the-.franie l0.

kThe upwardly extending f'portion 2() yoit therearr axle;y isprovi'ded `witlr'a` sleeve '30. heldl between fixed' spacing collars on K One end otthe belhcrank 28' is pivotally "conn'ec-teil'lby pin 43l r tothe sleeve. other end oi *the bell crank fitted' With'a draglinlt 32,"extending orwardlyito" 4,the operating i mechanism, which" willk be hereinafter n, explained. A' f This link is vsupported'ttor shifting movement; at

the yuse of a bell crank 33, secured .to

"bracket 34 on the forward end of the frame relative tol the shaft.

l0. The upper' end of this bell crank is connected with a drag link 35, which ex'- `tends rearwardly and is secured to the link 32.A The lower end ofthe bell crank is fitted with a link`36 pivoted to a sleeve 37 on the vertical shaft 15,' of the front axle spindle 14. By this arrangement itwill be evident that simultaneous movement of the drag 'links 32 andf35 will swing the lbell cranks 28 and 33, and will cause the frame of the implement to beraiscd and lowered relative to the'wheels 11 .andli This action is sufcient to insure that the disk plows shall be raised clear of the ground7 thus allowing vfree manipulation ofthe implement.

The mechanism for actuating the drag links-32 and 35 and thus producingthe lift'- in'g action of thel frame, consists of the structure indicated generally at 38. This comprises the shaft 39, extending hori- Zontally through a central bearing standard 40, secured to the frame, and within'which the shaft is free to rotate. The outer end of the shaft is fitted with a lock disk4l. This diskis formed with a paii` of dialnetrically opposite recesses 42, in its circumferential edge. These recesses are adapted rto alternately receive a lock pin 43, carried by a releasing' lever 44. This lever extends vertically and is pivoted to a standard 40' rby pin 45.

y The lever is disposedl at the forward side of the disk, and may be moved from its locking position by a trip cord 46, which is led forwardly to a tractor. A spring 47 is secured .to the lever 44, at one end, and to an adjusting bolt 48 at its oppositek end. This bolt extends through a vertical lug 49, carried upon the standard 40. The spring 47 may thus be tensioned by adjustment of the bolt 48 to cause the lever 44 and the pin 43 to loel constantly drawn rearwardly in a manner to insure that the pin 43 will fallA into one of the recesses 42 as it comes into register therewith. It will be understood that when the pin 43' is out of Aregister with one of the recesses 42, `the shaft 39 is Afree to rotate. It will be further evident thatV automatically the disk 41 and theshaft will be locked at each half'rotation thereof. Driving action of the shaft k39 is brought about through a sprocket wheel 50, 4normally freely rotatingY n Thissprocket wheel is; formed v,with theplurality of openings 5l. formedfthrough the. body portion 'andadja- 'centr its; huh'52. rThese openingsmay reg- 22.. The hub of the wheel 12,

ister with similar openings in a clutch disk 547 which is keyed to the end `of the shaft 39. Slidably mounted upon the hub of the sprocket 50 is a jaw clutch member 55, one end of which is formed with a plurality of axiallyv extending teeth 5G, which teeth agree in number and substantially in sectional dimensions with openingsk 51, through the sprocket, and the recesses 53 in the clutch disk 54, thus by projecting the lteeth 56 through the openings 5l and into engagement with kthe recesses 53, the sprocket will be keyed to the clutch disk 54 and'will impart motion to the shaft 39.

. The clutch member 55 is in the form of a sleeve freely slidable along hub 52, as shifted by the shifting fork 57. This fork is` adapted to swing horizontally as it is mounted on a pivot bolt 58 carriedby the standard 40. The ends of the forked arms are formed to engage pins 59 of a semicircular shoe 60. As shown in Fig. 3, this shoe partially circumscribes the clutch sleeve 55 and sits within an annular groove formed around the sleeve. The shifting fork 57 is swung by a lever arm 62 securedvto the lower vend of the pivot bolt 59, and connectedfwith the lock lever 44 by means of a ybolt 63. @This bolt extends through the 'lock levera'nd is there fitted with a vspring 64. This arrangement insures that when the lock lever "isdrawn forwardly, the shifting fork 5T will have va tendency to spring toward'the sprocket 50.' The shifting of the sleeve 55 cannot, however, take place until the teeth56 thereon, are in register with the recesses 53 in the clutch disk 54. This inaccuracy lin operation is taken care of by the spring 64 which will'allow the lock lever to spring and yieldablyhold the clutch `teeth against the flat face of the clutch disk 54`u'ntil they do come vwithin register with the recesses,rv and will then force these teeth in locking relation thereto. y

The sprocket `50 is constantly driven during the forward or backward movement of the wheel l2. This driving action is brought aboutfby sprocket chain 65, led

around a sprocket wheel 66, which member lis freely rotatably upon the upper horizontal axle extension of the axle 22. The outer end yof the hub of sprocket 66 is provided withy a plurality of yieldable lclutch'dogs 67 which extend axially and project into clutch recesses 68, formed in the adjacent facey of a sprocket 69'. This sprocket is also freely mounted on the upper portion of axle y j carries a sprocket 70, which` is fixed to rotatewith the wheel and constantly drives the sprocket 69 through a chain 7l, which driving action is utilizedin' the power lift.

Tn operation of the present invention, theimplement isassernbledas shown in the drawings. Vhen the-vehicle advances, ro-

tation of the sprocket 69 will take place,and due to the square shoulder at the rear of the recesses 68 on theA hub thereof, the dogs 67 will be positively engaged and the sprocket 66 caused to rotate in unison therewith. This motion will cause the sprocket 50 to rotate inithe direction of the arrow itin Fig. 3. The' sprocket 50 will run idle, carrying the clutch sleeve 55 therewith, until it is desired to raise the plow.v The operating cable 46 `is 'then drawnforwardlyand the lock lever 44 is swung in direction of the arrow -b-y and against the tension of spring '47. Pin 43 will thus be withdrawn from the recess 42 within which 'it was seated, and at the same time *ther clutch sleeve 55 will tend' to shift toward the clutch disk 54, throughthe operation of bolt 63, lever 62, and shifting lever 57, when the teeth 56, of the Clutch 55 move into register with the recesses 53 of the disk 54,. The spring 64 to the drag links 32 and 35 by a bar 73.

This will A allow the drag links to be drawn or pulled, as determinedby the position of the lever 72, when power is applied thereto.

.If it is movedin one direction, the bell cranks 28 and 33 vwill' act to lift' the main Vframe, and when movedin the opposite Adirection will act to lower the main frame relative to the running gear. In either event, the raising or` lowering action will be produced 'in a half revolution of the shaft 39 and the lock disk 41,`and Vas; the spring 47y is yieldably holding the pi'n`43 against the circumferential edge'of the lock disk, it willfOrCe the pin into a recess 42 when it .moves into register therewith, thus lockingY the disk, simultaneously permitting lever 44 to be Arestored to its original position and thereby swinging the clutchsl'eeve 55 from its position of engagementwith the disk 54.

In the event thatthe vehicle backs, the movingmechanism will remain inoperative even though it has been tripped. This is due to the factl that the rearward movement of the sprocket 69 will cause the dogs 67 to ride 'out of the recesses 68 and prevent unison rotation of the sprockets 66 and` 69.

It will thus be seen that the powerl lift mechanism here disclosed is simple in operation, automatically acting to raise and lower the plow frame as the implement advances,4

and without operation as the implement backs, and at the same time provides for an automatic action to restore the plow lift to its original inoperative position after one cycle of its performance. v

t will be understood that at certain times it is necessary to raise or lowerthe frame when the plow cannot be moved along the ground. For that purpose a manuallyoperatingdevice is provided. This consists of a lever arm` 75, `which is fitted with a ydog 76. The lever arm is freely mounted around the shaft 39, and carries the dog on'its outer 7 While I have shown the preferredy form of my invention as now known to me, it will be understood that various changes vmight be made in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled Linthe art, wit-hout'departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to securebyLetters Patent, is:

l. In combination with the main frame of a plow having front, lrear and side ground wheels mounted thereon whereby the'frame may be Araised or lowered relatively thereto, of apower lift for said vframe *comprising an operating shaft, a clutch disk fixed thereon, a' sprocket wheel operatively connected to the side wheel whereby it will: be `continuously driven when the plow is being moved along the ground, asliding c-lutch member on'theshaftadapted when actuated to lock said sprocket to said fixed clutch disk, isaid disk having 'a crank arm, mechanism associated with the front and rear wheels adapted to raise or lower the frame relative thereto when actuated, and operative connection between said `mechanism and said arm on the clutch disk whereby swinging movement of the arm will actuate said mechanism, a lever pivoted to the frame, an operf ative connection betweensaid lever and" said by imparting swinging movement to the arm to actuate the liftlngmechanisms, and autovmatically operating meansl associated with said' shaft andy said lever and operating to cause the levert-o disengage the clutch and' lock the shaft against rotation each time said shaft has traversed a'half revolution.

2.fIn combination with the main frame of plow having front, rear and sidewheels, said front and rear wheels having axles with vertical'extensions upon which they frame is y mounted whereby the frame may be raised or lowered relatively to the wheels, the side wheel having a 'Z-shaped axle with a horizontal portion journal on the frame, said axle being turnable whereby the frame may be raised or lowered relatively to said wheel,

- a sprocket kfixed to the hub of said side wheel ion and operatively connected to a Isprocket freely, mounted on said horizontal portion of the axle, a driven sprocket also freely mounted on said axle adjacent the rst named, a one-way clutch mechanism between said sprockets whereby theywill rotate in unison only when the plow is drawn forwardly, an operating` shaft, a sprocket freely mounted thereony and operatively connected tothe driven sprocket, an extending arm fixed on the shaft, a sliding clutch member on the shaft vand operable to lock said sprocket to said shaft to rotate the same, lift mechanism associated with the axles of the front and rear Awheels and the frame to raise or lower the latter relative to wheels and axles, and operative connection between said lift mechanisms and-t said extending arm where movement of the arm will actuate .the said mechanisms, a lever pivoted to thevframe and operatively connected to kthe lsliding clutch member to actuate the same, an automatically operating mechanism associatedl with thelever andthe shaft and normally tending to maintain the latter stationary and whereby shifting of the lever in onev direction will simultaneously permit the shaft to rotate and actuate the clutch and means co-operating with said mechanism whereby release of the lever will disengage the clutch and lock the shaft against rotation when the latter has traversedy a half revolution.l y

8. ln combination kwith the mainframe of a plow havingfront, rear and side wheels, said front and rear wheels having axles with vertical extensions upon which the frame is mounted whereby the frame may be raised or lowered relatively to the wheels, bell crank levers `pivoted to the frame adjacent each of said axles, one end of said bell cranks being connected to each other by drag links,

links connect-ing the other ends of said bellV 'cranks tol said axles whereby shifting Inovement of the drag links will actuate the bell i cranks Vto raise or lower the frame, an operating shaft, a disk fixed thereon having diainetrically opposed notches, a lock lever havingmeans thereon normally adapted t0 enlgage saidnotches to hold-said shaft stationary, internal ratchet teeth formed vin said disk, a second lever pivoted to the, shaft.

eratively connected to said drag links whereby the frame may be raised or lowered relative to the wheels by rotating said shaft.

4;. In combination with the main frame of a plowr having front, rear and side wheels, lifting mechanisms associated with each of said wheels, said mechanisms being operatively connected, an operating shaft, an yarm secured thereon and connected to said rmechanisms whereby turning movement/of the shaft will operate the same, a disk having diametrically opposed notches secured on the shaft, a lock lever pivoted to the frame and having means normally in engagement withone of said notches whereby to maintain the shaft stationary, an operating lever oivoted to the shaft, internal ratchet teethformed in said disk, a pawl on said lever adapted to cooperate with the teeth when the lever is oscillated to rotate the shaft when said lock lever is disengaged from the disk.

5. In combination with the plow frame, the running gear and the lifting mecha- :nisms associated with the front and rear yfreely mounted thereon, an operative connection between said sprocket and the driven lsprocket on the axle, a clutch adapted when actuated to lock the sprocket on the operating shaft thereto whereby the `shaft will be rotated, a fixed on said shaft having a pair of diametrically opposed notches, an operating lever having protruSion normally engaging one of said notches and securing the shaft againstA rotation, a yieldable connection between said lever and the clutch whereby actuation of said lever will release the shaft `and engage the clutch, a crank arm fixed yto HORACE G. KNAPP.

disk 

